Learn How You Can Fix Your Credit - Before Buying A New House!
By Kris Bickell, Fri Dec 9th

Most people think - mistakenly - that if you have creditproblems, you have to wait 7 years for them to go away.

Well, that's not always true.

Credit repair can help you...once you know how to do it. Thetime to clean up your credit and pay off your debts is RIGHTNOW, before you start looking for houses and applying formortgages. Cleaning up your credit and lowering your debt willhelp you:

* get a better interest rate * borrow more money * and save lotsof money in interest

Clean Up Your Credit Report

These days, getting credit is easy. Unfortunately, so is gettinginto debt or financial trouble.

But just because you've had some money problems does NOT meanyou can't get a mortgage and buy a house. There are all kinds ofloans:

* loans for first time homebuyers * loans for people with badcredit * loans for people with perfect credit * and loans forpeople without a lot of money for a down payment

So, most people can get a loan these days. The question is, HOWMUCH will you pay in the long run for higher fees and interestrates?

A lot of people think that if something bad goes on your creditreport, that it must stay there for 7 years, or longer. Butthat's not always true. Credit repair can work, if you know howto do it.

And, you can do it yourself.

For example, I had lots of debt (from a business idea that didnot work) and got a lot of bad credit listings while gettingmyself out of debt.

And within 6 months of paying off my last credit card bill(remember, even if you have some debt you might still be able toget a house loan) I repaired my credit to the point that I gotboth a car loan and a mortgage. More importantly, I got theLOWEST POSSIBLE interest rates, which over the life of a 30-yearloan could save me tens of thousands of dollars!

How did I repair my credit?

I got a copy of all my credit reports, and kept writing lettersasking the credit

NZ dollar steady as weak GDP data meets forecasts
WELLINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= was little changed on Tuesday as investors took weak growth figures as reinforcing expectations of further rate cuts, while the U.S. dollar held steady amid a deteriorating global economic outlook.
NZ dollar steady amid soft data; debt flat
WELLINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= held below recent highs in a tight range on Monday as the holiday period loomed, with investors cautious about recession at home and abroad.
NZ dollar lower as BOJ looms; debt firm
WELLINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= retreated from five-week highs on Friday in thin trading, with investors cautiously awaiting the Bank of Japan's rate decision later in the day.
NZ dollar at 5-week high vs weak USD; bonds firm
WELLINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= struck a five-week high on Thursday as the U.S. dollar continued to fall in the wake of a big interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
NZ dollar hits 5-week high on Fed cut; bonds firm
WELLINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= rose to a five-week high on Wednesday, one of the chief gainers as the U.S. dollar sagged across the board following the Federal Reserve's big interest rate cut.
NZ dollar hits month high as rate cut view hits USD
WELLINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= pushed to a one-month high on Tuesday, as poor U.S. economic data and expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve weighed on the U.S. dollar.
NZ dollar gains as risk appetite back; bonds flat
WELLINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= edged higher on Monday as stock markets rose on hopes a deal would be struck to save the U.S. auto industry, boosting risk appetite.
NZ dlr slips on auto package failure; debt weaker
WELLINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= slipped from near three-week highs on Friday as stocks turned negative on news that talks on a & #36;14 billion rescue package for the U.S. car industry had collapsed.
NZ dlr off highs on soft data, stocks; debt lower
WELLINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= retreated from a two-week high on Thursday amid soft stocks and a flurry of data that pointed to the local recession stretching well into next year.
NZ dollar retests 2-week highs; debt firmer
WELLINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= rose towards two-week highs on Wednesday as the central bank governor said easing inflation pressures were needed for lower interest rates and regional stock markets posted solid gains.
NZ dollar retreats from 2-wk highs; debt mixed
WELLINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= cooled from near two-week highs on Tuesday as Asian stocks struggled to follow a strong lead from Wall Street.
NZ dlr steady; firmer stocks offset soft data
WELLINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= was little changed on Monday, finding support from firmer stock markets in the face of more weak economic data and comments from the prime minister that the currency could fall further.

bureaus to remove the bad credit.

So it CAN be done. (And I had some pretty bad stuff on my creditreports.) The worst that can happen is that the credit bureauscan say "no" to your request. The best that can happen is thatyour credit score will improve, and you'll pay a lower interestrate, get a bigger mortgage, or both!

So, how do you clean up your credit report?

The first step is to get a copy of your credit report from the 3credit bureaus, listed below. You might have to pay a fewdollars, but it is well worth it. If you moved, changed jobs,and had any other personal info change recently, you can send itto the credit bureaus, and request a free copy.

NOTE: You are now entitled to one free credit report each yearfrom http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

The next step is to circle or highlight the bad credit items,and write a letter to each credit bureau asking them to removethe item. If you have a lot, focus on one or two at a time.

Then, wait a month or two, and ask for another one or two itemsto be removed.

It might take a few tries.

But if you keep trying, eventually most (or all) of the itemswill be removed.

In the worst case - even if you only get a few removed - itmight still improve your credit score, reduce your interestrate, and lower your monthtly payment!

So don't give up.

It might take a little time to repair your credit - especiallyif you've had quite a few money problems. But every little bithelps your credit score, your interest rate, and the amount ofmoney you can get.

Then Pay Off As Much Debt As Possible

I know, when preparing to buy your new home money is real tight.But if you have any extra money - any at all - try to pay off asmuch debt as possible. This will help you:

* Be more likely to be approved for a mortgage * Be able toborrow more money * Have one (or more) less bill to worry aboutonce you start having to pay a mortgage every month.

If you can't pay off your debt, you might want to considerwaiting before buying your new home. Or, look into a debtreduction program that can help you get out of debt faster.There are no rules that say you can't have some debt and stillbuy a house!

But think very carefully about your financial situation. And TRYto pay off as much debt as possible before buying a house. Thereis enough to worry about as a new homeowner, without having toworry about paying your credit card bills.

At the very least, if you do have any debt, MAKE SURE you cancomfortably afford to pay your credit card bills as well as yourmortgage, before getting started!

About the author:Kris Bickell is the owner of HouseBuying-Tips.com, a site thathelps first time home buyers avoid the costly mistakes that manynew homebuyers make. For more tips on buying a house, getting amortgage, finding a realtor, and getting out of debt, sign upfor the free "How To Avoid These 10 Costly Mistakes When BuyingYour First Home" email course at:http://www.HouseBuying-Tips.com/course.html. © 2005HouseBuying-Tips.com